More than $43,000 was stolen from two Bethlehem banks because of a skimmer (a removable device that scans and stores credit card information) was attached to the banks' ATM's. Criminals who are yet to be fully identified, attached the skimmers to the card slot, where it read the card's magnetic strip. They also installed surveillance cameras to record pin numbers. Although the banks refunded their customer's money, ATM users are still at risk.
With the recession, it is likely we will see incidents like this continue in the future. Local investigator Rob Toronzi said ATM users should be very careful. "If there is something that protrudes out of the card holder, pull on it hard," Toronzi said. "If it comes off, then it is a skimming device. If all else fails, when you are putting in your pin number, just hide the pin number."
Toronzi advised people to look at images of skimming devices on the internet to educate themselves and to keep a close eye on their account balance.
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I heard about this from a few friends around campus who frequent those ATMs themselves. It's an unfortunate event and luckily my friends escaped any damage but others were obviously a lot less lucky. It's scary to know you can not even run over to the bank without worrying about such scams; however, this is the risk you take by using ATMs to begin with.
ReplyDeleteI completely understand needing money in an emergency or after bank hours, but personally, I have not used one in years because I try to avoid them as much as possible. If you know there is a good chance you will be going out or taking a trip one weekend--plan ahead and be prepared...run errands like that on Friday or Saturday morning when you can walk inside or drive through with a teller. I think ATMs are great for once in a while, but using them as much as I know some people do is not necessary to me. Everyone should be careful with them, especially in light of this incident.
I think it is absurd that we can't even go to an ATM real quick to withdraw money without being worried of being scammed. I think banks are responsible for their ATMs and should look after them and check them frequently to make sure nothing is out of the ordinary. Where were the bank's cameras or what not when these criminals attached the skimmer to the ATM, in addition to installing their own surveillance cameras to record pin numbers? I think this would go under suspicious behavior that banks are supposed to be on the lookout for.
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